Key plays: After a drop by Roy Williams on a deep pass ended the Bears’ first possession, the Chargers used an 18-yard screen pass from Philip Rivers to Antonio Gates and a 23-yard run by Ryan Mathews on their first two plays to set up a 28-yard field goal by Nick Novak. The Bears came back starting with a 15-yard Jay Cutler pass to Williams on third-and-8, followed by passes of 31 yards to Johnny Knox and 17 yards to Matt Forte to set up a 42-yard field goal by Robbie Gould. The Chargers had another promising drive, but after reaching the Bears 33, they couldn’t overcome an illegal hands penalty against Jeromey Clary and had to punt.

Not in the box score: A fumble recovery by tackle Brandyn Dombrowski at the Bears 11 saved Mathews and the Chargers a turnover and allowed them to kick their field goal.

SECOND QUARTER

Bears 17, Chargers 10

Key plays: More mistakes by the Chargers helped the Bears take the lead. Another penalty against Jeromey Clary (false start), plus a missed block by Scott Mruczkowski doomed a drive near midfield and forced Mike Scifres to punt. His kick was low and Devin Hester returned it 37 yards to the 46. Chicago had to punt, but Adam Podlesh’s boot pinned the Chargers at their 3 and after a three-and-out, Scifres had an even worse kick that Hester returned to the 11. A penalty pushed it back to the 41, but a 26-yard pass to Earl Bennett put Chicago close, and Marion Barber scored on a 1-yard run. A 32-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson got the Chargers into Bears territory, and a 39-yard hookup between the two put the ball at the 8. Jackson dropped a first-down pass at the 1, but Rivers found Antonio Gates on third down for the 150th TD pass of the QB’s career. The Chargers special teams struck again, though, allowing Johnny Knox a 53-yard kickoff return. After having one score overturned on review, Chicago wound up scoring with 20 seconds left on a 5-yard pass from Jay Cutler to Kellen Davis on third down. A good kickoff return by Richard Goodman and a 26-yard pass from Rivers to Gates gave Nick Novak a chance for a career-long 55-yard field goal. It was blocked, but the Bears had called timeout, giving Novak another chance. The ball hit the crossbar.

Key stats: The Chargers outgained the Bears 220-153 but were hurt by penalties and special teams mistakes

Not in the box score: The Chargers lost another player, with defensive end Jacques Cesaire leaving with a knee injury. … Sure wouldn’t have minded seeing Norv Turner call timeout with about a minute left and Chicago facing third down at the 5. Chargers could have used those seconds near end of half.

THIRD QUARTER

Bears 31, Chargers 17

Key plays: One tackle by Quentin Jammer might have changed the game. Or one non-fumble by Ryan Mathews. The Chargers had momentum, with a 76-yard TD drive on the opening possession of the quarter, helped by a 47-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson plus a 21-yard interference penalty against Tim Jennings setting up a 5-yard TD pass from Rivers to Jackson. Jammer then had a chance to force a punt, but on third-and-4 he couldn’t tackle Roy Williams short of the first down, and Williams went on to catch two more passes for 12 and 11 yards before a 42-yard pass from Jay Cutler to Johnny Knox put the Bears in position for Cutler to dive in for a 2-yard TD. On the Chargers’ next possession, Mathews fumbled for the second time, but this time the Bears recovered, and two plays later Knox beat Antoine Cason again, this time for a 24-yard TD and a 31-17 lead. The Chargers were setting up for a field goal at the end of the quarter.

Key stat: Cutler was 6-of-6 for 113 yards in the third quarter alone.

Not in the box score: Nice showing by recent Chargers’ No. 1 picks in that quarter – Mathews with a critical fumble and Cason looking hopeless in coverage.

FOURTH QUARTER

Bears 31, Chargers 20

Key plays: Despite Philip Rivers saying “We gotta go,” the Chargers had Nick Novak kick a 48-yard field goal on the first play of the quarter. The Bears used up several minutes on a drive, but just when it looked like they would score their fifth straight TD, Antoine Cason actually came up with a big play, making an interception at the 20 and returning it 64 yards to the Bears 16. However, on third down Philip Rivers was intercepted in the end zone by Major Wright, and that proved fatal. The Bears were able to drain more than 7 minutes off the clock before trying a bizarre fake punt, and Rivers threw one more interception (his career-high 17th of the season) to wrap things up.

Key stats: The Chargers have lost five straight games for the first time since the 2003 team opened 0-5. The last time they lost six straight was 2001, when they dropped their final nine games.

Not in the box score: This was the sixth straight game in which the Chargers had at least two giveaways, their longest such streak in at least a decade.